Statement by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resid

Statement by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative at the opening of the Planning Workshop in Kadugli, South KordofanHE brother Adam AL-Faki, the Governor of South Kordofan StateHE brother Dr. Suleiman Abdelrahman Suleiman, Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner –GeneralYour Excellencies, distinguished state ministers, representatives of the mediaBrothers and sisters, participants at the symposiumDear colleagues from the UN organizations, NGOs and donor countriesYou are all welcome in your home country that is seeking peace. May Allah the Almighty enable you to achieve peace in the near future!We are very glad to be with you today as you embark on an important journey to seriously assess the basic needs of the State at a time when some areas in your beautiful State remain outside the scope of humanitarian or developmental planning; sunk into an armed dispute that must be reversed to give peace and security their natural place.It is my duty to remind you that for some unconvincing considerations we did not manage to reach and vaccinate more than 160 thousand children against polio in certain areas of your state that are not controlled by the Government. Despite the tremendous efforts that have been made to tighten the planning process to the satisfaction of everyone and guarantee a smooth humanitarian operation, political tendencies and conflicts stood between the two drops of immunization and the child who was waiting for them. In this regard, I wish to thank the Government of Sudan for its constructive cooperation in the course of this humanitarian initiative. I hope we will soon be able to try again and reach all those children without obstacles or conditions. Since the child is an example set to provide evidence of a nation’s success through his/her education, health and upbringing, we see your effort to create a strategic plan for the State as a child that should be cared for, helped and aided. I extend my sincere gratitude to all those who worked on this, be it the state, the private sector or a funding organization; and express our desire to together study the ways and means of our cooperation in this regard, a desire I had previously affirmed to their Excellencies the Wali and Dr. Suleiman during our meeting in Khartoum a few days ago.We come to you today in our capacity as representatives of multi parties. There are those of us who represent donor countries that are generous in their giving and keen on ties with Sudan; national and international non-governmental organizations; the United Nations; and the International Organization of Immigration, which, for your information, while not under the umbrella of the UN but it cooperates closely and firmly with it. We have come to renew our commitment to the desire to extend the bridges of cooperation with you. Each bridge should have steady foundations, the first of which is mutual trust. It is imperative upon us to show each other the required trust that we are doing a work that benefits and does not hurt; a work that helps and does not hinder. The second foundation is to consolidate the concepts we accept to jointly manage our agreed work in a timely manner that allows us to travel, reach the projects, and manage the work to be implemented and by being keen on the public funds that we have been entrusted with in your dear country; as well as implementing various projects and tightening monitoring of their performance so that we achieve the required development. Then comes the final foundation which is friendship and mutual respect. At the end of the day, we are only guests in your home country for which we show admiration and respect its traditions. It is a must that we think good of and trust each other, alas what other than noble and high principles of human brotherhood drive us to come in groups to work with you. Ladies and gentlemen;Today if we ask the Almighty to answer a call, we ask Allah to reconcile between brothers and spare you the misery and woes of war. Thank you